Stereotypes In Huckleberry Finn

When Mark Twain was writing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he could still see the racism prevalent in the country. Jim, a runaway slave who accompanies Huck throughout the novel is a stereotyped as an African American in the 1900’s. Jim is stereotyped by Twain to be superstitious and seen as unequal to whites, but by becoming Huck’s mentor he sheds his stereotype. Twain adheres Jim to being overly superstitious from his lack of education, which is characteristic to most slaves during the time period. In the beginning of the novel Huck and Tom went to talk to Jim and get advice for their next adventure, Jim tells them he has a “magic hairball” that can tell anyone a fortune for the right price. After the first attempt failed to give the

Jim truly believes that the hairball is magic, since he is uneducated he has to believe in the superstition that was instilled in him at an early age. Him being uneducated contributes to his superstitious beliefs which only enhances the stereotype Twain placed on him. Many slaves in the 1900’s were illiterate, as a result Twain placed that same stereotype on Jim to prove he is similar in many ways to the slaves Twain witnessed in his daily life. After Huck had found Jim on Jackson’s Island, Huck thought it would be funny to play a trick on Jim using a dead rattlesnake. After the rattlesnake’s mate had bit Jim, his superstition arose by explaining to Huck “touching a rattlesnake is bad luck”. Jim had odd methods to regain their good luck and to make sure no more bad luck would be placed on them. The methods of preventing bad luck were very superstitious to Jim, and he made Huck “wrap the skin around his arm” just to try and regain good luck. All

When Huck and Jim lost each other in the fog, Huck thought it would be a good idea to play a trick on Jim. By telling Jim that everything that happened was only him dreaming, but Jim was smart enough to realize Huck’s hoax but not let on about it. When Huck figured out Jim wasn’t happy about the trick, he had to “work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger” (4). In the beginning Twain makes Huck see Jim as unequal to him, by still having Huck use degrading names, and having to force himself to apologize. Inequality was a major issue during Twain’s life, and by having Jim stereotyped as unequal to Huck, though both are very similar in morals and education, Jim is still lower than Huck. As the novel progresses Huck does begin to see Jim in a different light, and giving him the respect through the traits Twain gives him. After floating done the river for hours, Jim and Huck find a cave to sleep in until it is safe to travel again. While in the cave Huck tells Jim “I wouldn’t want to be nowhere else but here,” which proves Huck enjoys Jim’s company and sees him as an equal to him. This is one of the earliest moments where Jim isn’t a stereotypical African American, and Twain begins to shift perspectives of how Jim is treated by others. This causes Huck’s perspective on Jim to change from earlier in the novel, and from this shift, Huck sees Jim as an equal to him. This